Called to Greatness

Duane Vander Klok

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22: 37-39

What does it mean to be great? The dictionary definition for the term is to be ‘considerably above normal or average.’ Everyone wants to be great, but not everyone wants to pay the cost to be great. True greatness isn’t the glitz and glamor that we see portrayed on television. Greatness looks like something completely different to God than it does to our society. It’s not convenient, socially relevant, or sometimes even acceptable.

When the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them, Jesus replied “Whoever wants to be great among you must be the servant of all.” Jesus even said something similar about Himself: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” I think we can all agree that Jesus was, is, and will always be the greatest of all time. If we want to be great, then we must follow in His example.

Literally, the thing that makes a person great is not how many people serve them, but how many people they serve. It’s service and sacrifice to other people that makes a person great. Your generosity, kindness, and overall sacrifice for another person is how God defines greatness. It doesn’t matter how big or small the action may be, if it makes a positive impact in a person’s life, then that is greatness!

We are all called to greatness. It is never too late for us to start being great and living out greatness. This week, let’s seek out opportunities to be great in our world. The world may not understand, but we know that we are called to something, and by someone, greater.